Grimes & Company Inc. Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Grimes & Company Inc. decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 250,971 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,871 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.85 and its 200-day moving average is $41.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.29.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).